Newsdesk — Military Aviation

757s for USAF

The US Air Force has ordered four Boeing 757-200s to replace VC-137 (Boeing 707) VIP transports operated by the 89th Airlift Wing at Andrews Air Force Base near Washington. In USAF service the aircraft will be designated C-32A. The 757s are scheduled for delivery in 1998 and will be powered by Pratt & Whitney PW2040 engines. The $US365m deal sees the aircraft and engines initially leased with the USAF having an option to buy.

The Sound of Combat

The sounds of battle will reach new heights if Australia’s defence researchers have their way and technology allowing fighter pilots to ‘hear’ as well as see the enemy is successfully developed. Scientists from the Defence Science and Technology Organisation (DSTO) and Deakin University have joined forces to develop the technology which is designed to improve pilots’ performance by supplementing visual signals with sounds generated by a specially developed helmet. The technology is expected to allow pilots to locate and engage a threat more easily and accurately. The research is based on the use of symbolic sounds that appear to come from outside the pilot’s helmet which will allow them to quickly identify the direction and type of an approaching threat. The research also has implications beyond combat, the technology presenting the possibility of assisting air traffic controllers in their management of busy airports by allowing them to monitor aircraft movements by sound.

Hums for Hawk

British Aerospace is offering HUMS — health and usage monitoring system — to potential customers of its Hawk advanced trainer, including Australia. The system will be offered as a standard feature on the aircraft and is 10 Australian Aviation designed to significantly reduce the life cycle costs of the aircraft through extending the life of the aircraft and improving safety by monitoring the performance of the structure, systems and vital engine components. It will also improve maintenance planning and provide data for accident investigations. HUMS technology has already been used in helicopters but the Hawk is believed to be the first full fixed wing application. Analysis Management & Systems of South Africa has been awarded a contract to develop and integrate the system.

Pearce Support Contracted

Serco-Gardner Merchant Pty Ltd has been selected by the RAAF to provide base support services at RAAF Base Pearce in WA as part of the Defence Commercial Support Program. The contract is worth an estimated $19m over the next 3 years and is expected to reduce the cost of providing base support services by about 43%. Serco-GM will commence operations this month and will assume full control of providing services by January next year. Services to be provided include aircraft refuelling, airfield sweeping, clothing store management, stores handling, waste removal, catering and accommodation management. About 74 people will be employed to perform the work.

Prestigious Award for AA

Australian Aviation’s Managing Editor and Publisher, Jim Thorn, has won the SBAC Award for the Best Air Transport Submission category of the Royal Aeronautical Society’s Aerospace Journalist of the Decade awards. Jim won the award ahead of a shortlisted field of highly regarded and fancied aviation writers from Air Transport World, The Economist, The Financial Times and Janes. Jim’s award was for his story on the Airbus A3XX which appeared in AA’s July 1995 issue. Meanwhile AA’s Carlo Kopp was shortlisted in the BBS Award for the Best Avionics Submission category, itself a creditable feat. Australian Aviation was the only magazine in the southern hemisphere to have writers shortlisted in the awards. The awards were presented at a gala dinner and presentation at London’s Inter-Continental Hotel on September 2, October 1996.

Rockwell recently rolled out the first C/KC-135 PACER CRAG (Compass, Radar and GPS) upgraded aircraft. The avionics upgrade includes the installation of a Rockwell FMS-800 Flight Management System, FDS 255 flight displays, FMR-200X weather radar and an embedded INS/GPS. The upgrade will encompass around 600 C/KC-135s and is valued at around $250m. (Rockwell)

Sir Frank Whittle Dead

British jet engine pioneer Sir Frank Whittle has died at the age of 89. As a serving RAF officer, Whittle filed the first patent for a jet engine in 1930 and established his own company — Power Jets — to develop it. His first engine was test run in 1937. As is the case with many pioneers, Whittle’s then radical ideas were all but ignored by the British powers-that-be for some years before proper recognition was achieved. The culmination of his efforts came in May 1941 with the maiden flight of the first British jet, the Gloster E.28/29 powered by a Whittle W.1 engine. Whittle has been described as the inventor of the jet engine but although the basic concept was established by others at around the same time, he was certainly responsible for converting an idea into a practical, working powerplant. As Uncle Roger Bacon said in a recent issue of Flight International, Whittle was “a prophet without honour in his own country for many years; a man whose stubborn persistence deservedly, but belatedly, triumphed over the narrow minds of the Neddies”.

MDC Target Flies

McDonnell Douglas has successfully completed the first launch and powered flight of its Russian based MA-31 aerial target. The MA-31 was launched from a US Navy QF-4 Phantom over the Naval Air Warfare Centre’s missile test range in California. It descended to 1000ft (800m) above the sea, flew straight and level at speeds up to Mach 2.4 and performed a series of 10g lateral manoeuvres. The MA-31 is a Russian X-31A supersonic air launched anti radar and anti ship missile, which has been in Russian service since 1988, converted into an aerial target by a team comprising McDonnell Douglas, the US Navy and Moscow based missile producer Zveda Strela. It has a sea skimming range of over 16nm (30km) and is a contender to meet a USN requirement for a supersonic sea skimming target for testing anti ship missile defence systems. McDonnell Douglas was awarded a $US4.7m contract in May 1995 to evaluate four of the aerial targets under the foreign comparative test program. The contract includes an option for the procurement and target presentation support of up to 20 targets.

Saab Gripen Simulator

Saab Military Aircraft has installed a new concept full dome simulator for the Gripen fighter at its Linkoping facility in Sweden. The $A10m simulator comprises a Gripen cockpit inside a 6m (20ft) diameter dome. Eight projectors are used to create a view for the ‘pilot’, one of them designed to project target images anywhere within the pilot’s field of view. Unlike many of its competitors, Saab says this simulator projects an image all around the pilot in a daylight surrounding to create an effect that is as true to life as possible. The simulator’s ‘out of the window’ scene represents a large area from the central part of Sweden, derived from satellite images and digital and area maps. The resolution achieved enables the recognition of individual houses, essential when practicing low flying. Saab intends extending the simulator’s database with new geographical regions to increase its usefulness to export customers. It has one other use, of course, that of a high-tech marketing tool for potential customers and others to ‘fly’ a Gripen.

Anti Corrosion Scholarship

The RAAF has presented a scientific scholarship to promote further studies into the problem of aircraft corrosion. The scholarship will allow Dr Geoff Hugo of the Defence Science and Technology Organisation (DSTO) to study potential non destructive techniques for detecting and quantifying hidden corrosion in aircraft. The scholarship allows research to be carried out at the Defence Research Agency at Farnborough in the UK and at Iowa State University in the USA.

War Memorial Refurbish

The Federal Government has provided $7m for a refurbishment of the Australian War Memorial, allowing major internal improvements to be made. The money will provide for better visitor access and circulation, improved gallery works, an upgraded air conditioning system and a disabled persons hoist. The government funding will supplement the Memorial’s own Capital Appeal which provides major capital works funding for the memorial. In other good news for the AWM, the government has ruled out entrance fees.

Astras for Ang

Israeli Aircraft Industries is to supply the US Air National Guard with two Astra SPX corporate jets to replace two C-21A Learjets with an option for two more. The aircraft will first be delivered to Tracor Flight Systems who will equip the aircraft with their mission equipment before deployment to the 201st Military Airlift Squadron at Andrews AFB, Washington.